SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Senior captain Alex Luccini (Hopedale, Mass.) took charge against USC Upstate, hitting two home runs with four RBI, leading the UMass Lowell baseball team (3-4) to an 11-8 victory over the USC Upstate Spartans (4-4) on Friday afternoon.
"I was really happy with our effort across the board today," voiced Head Coach Nick Barese. "I think the eight runs are deceiving because I thought we threw the ball pretty well overall. Mucciarone did a great job competing and keeping the game manageable. Andres was fantastic, and Dirito closed it out like he normally does. Offensively we were really good situationally today. We had a lot of big hits with two outs, or two strikes, and just grinded out at bats all day."
Junior Carlos Martinez (Coamo, Puerto Rico) recorded his second homer of the season (2-5), tallying two RBI and a run. Sophomore Scott Donahue (Medfield, Mass.) went 2-5, including his first career home run, on his way to a two-RBI day.
Sophomore Alfred Mucciarone (Franklin, Mass.) got the start, going 4.1 innings and recording two strikeouts. Senior Andres Hulfachor (Nashua, N.H.) entered the game in the fifth, going 1.1 innings and earning a strikeout on his way to his first win of the season. Redshirt-sophomore Nick Dirito (Plymouth, Mass.) earned the save, going 3.1 innings with four big strikeouts to close out the game.
Leading off for the River Hawks, Junior Zachary Scott (Lunenburg, Mass.) drew a five-pitch walk before advancing on an error to get to second with no outs. Two batters later, Scott stole third, before Martinez knocked one out of the park, putting his squad up early, 2-0. In the bottom half of the inning, Mucciarone made quick work of the opposition, recording a strikeout to keep it a two-run game after one. Over the next three innings, UMass Lowell continued to put the ball in play, getting at least two runners on in each frame, but the Spartans were able to hold the visitors to two while adding five of their own to take a 5-2 lead after four.
In the fifth, the River Hawks took control of the game, as senior Brandon Fish (Londonderry, N.H.) sent a one-out double down the third baseline to ignite the offense. Donahue followed up by hammering his first collegiate home run to cut the deficit to 5-4 before sophomore Sean O'Leary (Foxboro, Mass.) singled to right, knocking the Spartans starter out of the game. The visitors didn't stop there, though, using three more singles to jump back in front, setting up Luccini, who launched his first bomb of the day, giving the River Hawks a commanding 9-5 lead through five.
After a scoreless inning from both sides, UMass Lowell looked to add to their lead in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Rowan Masse (Manchester, Conn.) got things started, working the pitcher to a full count before drawing the leadoff walk. Although USC Upstate was able to get two outs, Luccini continued to see the ball well, sending the second pitch to deep center for his second homer of the day, extending the team's lead to 11-5. The Spartans added one more in the bottom half of the inning to make it a five-run difference with two innings to play.
Dirito went to work in the eighth, sitting down the first three batters of the inning on only 11 pitches. Although the Spartans showed some fight in the ninth, adding two runs off a two-out
double to right, Dirito stayed composed, striking out the next batter after a nine-pitch at-bat, sealing the 11-8 victory for the River Hawks in game one of the series.
The River Hawks are back on the diamond tomorrow, March 1, to face USC Upstate for game two in Spartanburg, S.C. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
